Grimm Criminology: White Beach, Sapphire Scales
by LA Knight
Summary: Hotch goes to the beach to relax from the stress of a hard case. One-shot, ties in with "Blood in the Water, Blood on the Ice."
1. On the Sandy Beach

**The Beach**

This case was starting to get to him.

Aaron Hotchner sped down the road, wondering, waiting, trying to figure out just where it was his reflexive driving was taking him. The Yamaya-Beach Murders had been gnawing at him, a vicious canker that was making him impossible to deal with. It didn't help that their only witness was so traumatized that she refused to speak. They'd managed to get her name before they'd taken her to the hospital, but after that, she'd clammed up.

Suddenly he jerked in surprise as he realized that he'd driven himself to the beach. Almost without thinking he parked and got out, and walked out onto the sand. Without thinking, he kicked off his shoes and peeled off his socks, letting his toes curl in the sand, feeling the soft grit of it against his skin. The brine of the ocean stung the inside of his nose. It was all so familiar and soothing. The spray of the waves, the pounding of the surf, it called to the thrumming tides of his blood irrepressibly. Despite the stress, he could feel a smile curling his lips. The ocean was breathtaking at sunset.

He climbed up onto one of the sea-slicked rocks, ignoring the water drenching his clothes. Hotch just wanted to stare out across the sea, watching the golden red light play over the water. He could see her, the next murder victim, faceless and terrified as the killer stalked her. He had to find this killer...

Suddenly a sparkling something caught his attention. He jerked out of his reverie enough to notice the sunlight glinting off something wet, and then realized it was a pod of dolphins goofing off in the surf. Well, that was all right then. Let the dolphins play. What did they care about murderers and human death? Theirs was a sparkling, undersea world of sapphire and emerald light, aquamarine and jade glow, darting fish and soft, cool waters. Let them enjoy their world.

Hotch let himself flop back onto the rocks, lounging as he stared up into the twilit sky. It was a glorious, soft blue color, like a mermaid's eyes at dawn. The first stars were coming out.

He heard a soft splash, a familiar splash, and slowly sat up. This was why he had come to the beach, he realized suddenly. He'd known they would be here.

Slowly, he reached out a hand and his fingertips brushed the soft, wet curls, silky black and baby fine. He looked into twin pairs of twilight blue eyes and smiled dreamily. He loved coming here. He could feel his heart pounding as long, slender fingers reached out to brush his fingertips gently. The wonder of seeing them again took his breath away...

His cellphone rang, and with a splash they slipped back under the water and away. He grabbed the cell and flipped it open, too pleased and relaxed to even be annoyed at the interruption. As he spoke to the person on the other end, he saw, out beyond the last wave, the flick of a scaled, jewel-toned fish tail.

He smiled, knowing they would come back.

**oo8oo8oo8oo**

In the words of JunoMagic:

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**Disclaimer/Author's Note:** I don't own anything you recognize.


	2. What Hotch Did

Okay, this is my explanation for White Beach, Sapphire Scales.

Those weren't fish. They were merfolk. Yes, Hotch knows about merfolk. Yes, Hotch knows where they are. Yes, he has a strange and mysterious connection to said merfolk (as does Gideon, Rossi, and Morgan). And no, I'm not going to tell you what that connection is. This is a one-shot that is a part of Silver Dreams, Scarlet Seas, the Criminal Minds fanfic that incorporates fairytale motifs from Hans Christian Anderson (the Little Mermaid, Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, the Nightingale, the Little Match Girl, and the Snow Queen are his most famous works).

I have another fanfic that involves Grimms fairytales, and another that will involve motifs from such ballets as Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and the Nutcracker (but that's not till much later).

So, anyway, the basic gist of this one shot is: Hotch, troubled by the current case, goes to the beach to visit with the merfolk when duty calls. For those who didn't get it, that's okay. I wrote it to be a bit mysterious. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. It's just a little one-shot to soothe and ease, to give the reader a sense of quiet joy and peace. Hope it worked.

Loves to you all!

_LA Knight_


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